Just Like Family: Inside the Lives of Nannies, the Parents They Work For, and the Children They Love

by Tasha Blaine

Book Overview

When she was in her early thirties, Tasha Blaine briefly became a nanny. She expected an easy, nine-to-five stint, but instead she discovered the vast, varied, and fascinating world of nannies. Often... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 015101051X
• ISBN13: 9780151010516
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 322 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.6" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Compelling story of three women

This book gives a thoughtful and in-depth look into the lives of nannies. The book explores everything from each nanny's personal ambitions and disappointments, their relationships with the children, and their interactions with employers. As all three nannies are hardworking and caring women, it is easy to get caught up in their lives. Still, the author clearly strives to show all sides of the story in order to let the reader come to his or her own conclusion. Even though I am neither a nanny nor a parent, I found Just Like Family to be fascinating and engaging.

beautiful book

This is a beautifully written, insightful book about a population that rarely has a voice in our society. I was riveted to the page as I read about the lives of these three women. The author spent enough time with each one to write the book as if inside each woman's head, and it is an amazing opportunity for the reader to dive inside someone else's experience. I recommend it for nannies and employees alike, as each will have something to learn from this portrait of the complexity of the nanny-family relationship.

a good read for nannies and a must read for anyone who employs them

I loved the book, enjoyed reading about each girl. I work as a nanny and know lots of other nannies, some just like Claudia, Vivian and Kim, and some like none of these girls. Their are lots of stories to tell from the many families nannies work for. The book is written nicely, telling the stories of all 3, very differently, but shows how each one loves the children they care for. I would recommend this book to nannies, and the people that employ them and too just about everyone, its a fine read, buy!

a must read for its refreshing perspective

I tore right through Just Like Family. An intimate, detailed book of non-fiction, it reads as quickly as a novel. While Blaine takes great care to cover the nanny topic in general through the nannies' stories, she has also crafted three beautiful portraits of women with real lives of their own. The nannies in this book are committed to their jobs, but they are also flawed human beings with hopes and dreams of their own. I was completely transported into their worlds and, as a mother of three children, I was relieved and deeply moved when they talked about the love they have for the children in their care. Just Like Family is written from a unique perspective, one I have often wondered about in my years of playdates, playgroups and countless playground hours with both other mothers and nannies alike. Blaine's book humanizes the experience from both perspectives. There is so much hyperbole and polarization in the "mommy wars." It is refreshing to step away from that dialogue and read about another group of women's experiences, caring for others' children while trying to raise their own or simply live an adult life. A very compelling read!

just like family

loved the book was fortunate enough to acquire a copy a while back from my boss!I,as I'm sure many if not all of us in the nanny business can identify and relate to one if not the three nannies in the book.The book takes us on a journey (if not our own) into the lives of families who trust their most prized possessions with women who they hope will love their children as much as they do!! Just like family covers every aspect there is to know about the daily lives,the struggles, the fun and sometimes the competition between nanny and employer.A great read every nanny and nanny employer should have a copy. Jackie Freeman